When young girls are often asked what they want to be when they’re older, frequent answers would be a doctor, a princess or maybe an actress. To hear a young girl say “I want to be a judge!” happens less often.

After being listed as a “male only” job for a long time, women have started participating again in sharing the same job with men – being a judge.

Minister of Justice Ahmed Al-Zind announced that a group of Egyptian women are about to be taken on as presiding judges in the Courts of First Instance.

The statement came in a press conference entitled “Female judges in the Arab World”.

“In addition, women will be appointed as aids to the Minister of Justice, in recognition of women’s role in society,” Al-Zind said.

The conference was held by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Arab Women’s Organization last Saturday. It discussed ways of intensifying collaboration on women’s empowerment and gender equality across the Arab region.

“The exact hiring appointment is not known yet, but it’s very soon,” Ezzat Khamis, an adviser to the Minister of Justice, told Daily News Egypt.

In 2003, Tahani Al-Gebali became the only first woman to hold a judicial position in Egypt’s history. She was appointed under the direct orders of former president Hosni Mubarak. She held the position of vice president of the Supreme Constitutional Court until 2007.

In 2007, the first group of 31 women to hold the position of judge was selected by the Supreme Constitutional Court.